Look at all of this domesticity. He’s showering. The baby’s crying. They’re a family. They’re a family, show. Like they should be. It’s so comfortable and obvious between them now, and maybe we’re only getting this because they’re about to be ripped apart again, but I’ll take it.

William can tell that something’s wrong. This baby gets it.

I love that Scully and Mulder are together until the last possible second. I love that he packed up his apartment and took it all to Scully’s place, because he had to be with her before he left. She had to be his jumping off point. She’s his touchstone. He knew she’d talk him out of it if he was making a mistake.

For the record, I don’t believe that Mulder would leave Scully, and I don’t believe that Scully would let him go alone. She’d take William and go with him if she had to, or he’d stay and fight from here. They’ve split out of necessity before, but they have a baby now, and she just got Mulder back after burying him, and that changes things. But I get that the writers were backed into a corner, and there is something tragically appropriate about the fact that Scully and Mulder’s connection continues to be something they believe can be used against them. They’ve put each other before their own desire to be together, with the faith that they’ll be reunited in the end if they work this case from opposite ends, like they always have.

We’re being placated with shirtlessness. I accept.

Heal quickly, baby goat.

Somebody’s on the same wavelength.

You do you, Monica.

Seeking insight on whether Cary Elwes’s American accent is bad or whether I’m just super aware of it.

Doggett’s really going after Kersh, and “hell no it isn’t” going to be easy. Tenacious little goat.

“Knowle Rohrer.”

It’s been two days? That’s all the time they had as a family? That’s how quickly Scully’s hair grows?

Doggett goes to Mulder for help because they’re friends now, and because he knows that Mulder won’t let anyone cover up the truth.

I feel all empty inside.

All of the evidence of Mulder’s time in this apartment is gone. When he was abducted, Scully kept his fish fed and his place in order, waiting for him to come back. Now there’s nothing—no trace of the couch he slept on, the blanket he wrapped around his partner, the 3:00 am Plan 9 from Outer Space marathons, the tape in the shape of an X in the window. For eight years, it was his office and his desk, and they met in his apartment when they wanted to hang out, but when he left, Mulder left the entire imprint of his life in Scully. After all of the time she spent defending his right to take up space, she became the only mark he needed to leave behind. His bedroom was wall-to-wall files when he met her.

“I got panicked you weren’t gonna be here, that you left too.”

My favorite thing about the fact that she stayed is that it saves Doggett from a total internal collapse.

Doggett fully expected Scully to leave with Mulder, because that would make sense, and he knows that, at the very least, Mulder wouldn’t leave without telling her.

“Dana.” That sounds about right. He can’t keep calling her “Agent Scully,” but “Scully” is Mulder’s thing.

“He’s gone.”

Hope everyone’s ready for another season of Scully trying to keep it controlled until she breaks!

“I don’t know where Mulder is. I don’t know that I’d tell you if I did.” Remember how long it took Skinner to lay it down for the right side? It’s easy now. Scully and Mulder come first.

He’s not sorry he shot Krycek in his dad sweater.

“You wanna know what I fear? I fear for Mulder and Scully. I fear for the life of that child if you don’t stop pushing it, John.”

Doggett can’t stop pushing it, and Monica won’t let him fight alone. They’re in full Scully-and-Mulder mode. The truth is out there, and they’re willing to risk everything but each other in order to find it.

“You make it sound like I go home from work with Post-Its on my ass. It’s nothing like that.”

It’s a deep bond forged in a tiny basement and it’s BEAUTIFUL.

Monica is good. She’s playing Brad for all he’s worth and ensuring that he’ll be in her corner when she needs him.

“It just doesn’t make any sense. Mulder leaving you here all alone, just walking out on you, not telling you where and why.” Doggett speaks for us all. And he’s right again, on everything except the idea that Mulder wouldn’t tell her why. Of course she knows why. He wouldn’t leave if she weren’t on board with his plan.

“It makes sense in its own way. That’s all I can tell you.” Scully has a whole different logic system just for Mulder.

“Then tell me why you can’t trust me. Everything I did to try and protect you when you thought your baby was in danger. What changed? Why is it suddenly I’m now the enemy?”

She’s buttoning her shirt in front of you, John. She trusts you.

Scully trusts Doggett as much as she trusts anyone who isn’t Mulder, Skinner excepted. She just can’t take any risks where Mulder is concerned. These people are still out there, “and they are unstoppable, and they are inside the FBI.” Everyone in Scully’s life is in danger, and she doesn’t have the luxury of vulnerability right now. Keeping people at a distance is the best way to keep them safe.

“Knowle Rohrer, this old military buddy of mine.”

“My baby—my son—is fine.” Oh Scullbags, we all hope that’s true.

“I’m gonna ask you to leave. I’m gonna ask you to leave and not come back here.” I know Scully wants to keep Mulder safe and keep everyone else safe by extension. I know Doggett’s very Muldery curiosity could put Mulder’s life at risk. I know he just brought up a really sensitive subject. But I still feel bad for the baby goat. He needs Scully, and she could really use his help too.

That was way harsh, Scull.

Scully will ice everyone she loves out of her life if that’s what it takes to protect Mulder. The More You Know

There are some parts that only Lucy Lawless can play, like Ron Swanson’s wife and hot super soldiers who get naked and drown people.

You can’t tell me Monica’s not checking that out.

Scully is the most gentle mom. I have to go punch a hole in a wall.

“Sleepy time, sweet William.”

And there’s a blanket where Mulder’s arms should be. Again.

Bring him back.

We thought he was messing around, but he was really just lending a hand to the agents of the future.

The mobile is stars. It’s starlight. It’s where souls reside. Bye.

Is any part of Scully’s life not an X-file at this point? Is there anything good?

Probably shouldn’t have been so harsh with Doggett.

Doggett’s not even mad. And he didn’t listen to her when she told him to drop it, which turned out to be the right move, so this partnership is back in business.

“You’re the only person we can trust.” The secrets don’t change anything he thinks about her. She’s always put Mulder first anyway.

Rogue autopsy Scully is one of the few things I know to be true.

“I’m just impressed that you can do this.” “This is what I do, Agent Reyes.”

I examine bodies and bury my feelings.

Look how afraid she is to be told that she isn’t fine. She can admit that she was wrong about pursuing this case (she’s had that conversation more than once with Mulder), but she can’t admit her fears about her baby.

“If you ever feel the need to talk to someone, Dana, I’m here. I’d never betray a confidence.” Take the friendship, Scully.

“There is something.”

This is it we’re gonna BOND

“Right here on the ankle.”

Fine.

I like this friendship.

Margaret Scully just successfully out-mommed a super soldier.

The purposeful hallway walk has met its match, and it is so good.

I’m pretty emotional about this.

It’s the one thing this show was missing: badass ladies being badass together.

Scully’s foolproof plan to avoid being caught in a lie is to leave. Bless her integrity.

“Forget the X-files. He’ll take you down with him.” How many times did people say this to Scully? Monica won’t fall for it.

Skinner’s adventure outfit is the most ‘dad raking leaves before a football game’outfit imaginable.

“This is madness!”

“Nothing Important Happened Today, Part 2”

“What did you do at work today, Robert?” “Made out with Lucy Lawless underwater, but no one will believe me because the lighting was so bad.”

Elwes is really bro-ing it out right now. He might not have the accent on lock, but he’s definitely nailed ‘American frat boy in a position of power.’

Ask Monica to distance herself from Doggett, and she’ll distance herself from you.

“How do you know what I know, what Knowle Rohrer told me?”

“Knowle Rohrer” FIVE TIMES IN FORTY SECONDS

Of course Skinner is the one person they brought into their confidence. “I was told to leave this alone. You and Mulder asked me to leave it be. To let Mulder disappear. We were concerned for the safety of the baby and for Mulder.” If people strike at what binds Scully and Mulder, then William makes that literal. He’s an entire person who exists because Scully and Mulder love each other. He’s the reason they have to be together, but he’s also the reason they’re afraid to be together, as if they’re protecting their connection by not even giving in to it in the first place—life can’t take this family from them if they’ve never had it. But I think they know at some level that they’re just holding chaos at bay. The pull between them is as strong as whatever pulls the shadows toward them. William is the reason they want out of this life, but he’s also the reason they’ll always be drawn back in.

It’s hard to disappear when you need answers as much as Scully and Mulder do.

Doggett is “hellbent, and Agent Reyes is following right in his tracks.” I’m getting so many flashbacks to baby Scully trailing after Mulder. Come on, agents, get those little legs moving.

Scully thinks it’s too dangerous to bring Mulder into this, but “it’s too dangerous for everyone.” Whether they meant to or not, Scully and Mulder have people now. If they didn’t, it wouldn’t be so hard to walk away.

Agent Mulder, every life, every day, is in danger. That’s just life.

I just want her to live in a world where she can sniff her baby’s bald little head in peace.

“Look, I’ve had my fair share of outrageous conspiracy theories, okay? So let’s cut the mystery crap and get to the science.” Scully likes science.

Scully likes leather jackets.

damn

She won’t apologize for her priorities or make her friends apologize for theirs. “Well, for your sake I hope so, but not for mine.”

Baby goat really has gone full Mulder, like Scully did when Mulder was abducted. People are always compensating for his absence; Mulder always leaves a hole. It’s interesting to think how this job changes you if you let it, but you have to be the right type of person first—fearless, curious, willing to ask the right questions, and the strong enough to handle the answers.

“I don’t answer to you. I answer to AD Skinner.” What we have here is a TEAM.

Monica will just be over here saving the day by being really patient with Brad.

Look at these three.

It would be a privilege just to have them walk toward me.

I’m not singing Knowle Rohrer’s swan song just yet, because I’m pretty sure that if being headless can’t kill him, drowning can’t either.

Scully’s getting reckless because she’s so desperate to know that William is all right (the way she whispers “my baby’s name” just HURTS), and it’s Doggett who talks her down. “We will find another way.”

“Revolutions start, things that change the world forever, and even kings can miss them if they’re not paying attention.” Scully and Mulder always seem to find themselves at the center of something that will change the world. Maybe because they are that something.

I’m not sure how to feel about this whole ‘Kersch is a human being’ development.

Scully persuaded Mulder to go. It kills me how convinced she is that she doesn’t get to be happy.

But she can’t help but smile just a little when she looks at her baby.

It makes sense that she’s been reassigned. The X-files are in good hands, and I’m sure the FBI isn’t going to pay three people to work in that basement when they’d rather lock it up. As a forensic investigator, it’s easier for Scully to keep herself safe—not just physically, but emotionally. To get back to Mulder, she had to practically become him, but when she’s not supposed to find him, when they have to stay apart, she has to be the person she was before they met. It’s the best way for her to deal with the fact that Mulder isn’t here.

But she’s still being looked down on for the work they did together, and she’s still prepared to own it.

“Ever slay a vampire?”

I am about to slay you. Pay attention.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but this is a course in forensic pathology. Hard science. An X-file is a case that has been deemed unsolvable by the Bureau. Because such a case cannot be solved, it may beg other explanations—a vampire, perhaps. Science, however, tells us that evil comes not from monsters, but from men. It offers us the methodology to catch these men, and only after we have exhausted these methods should we leave science behind to consider more extreme possibilities.” Nailed it. Vintage Scully after eight years of Mulder. Science comes first, but when it falls short, she’s ready.

Let’s talk about how turned on she is by the words “extreme possibilities.”

She can tell that Monica’s holding something back.

“I’ve felt things that I couldn’t understand, things that I was afraid to admit even to myself … I learned not to ignore it. To trust my instincts.” Ladies supporting ladies, all the way. And I don’t think she’s just talking about her cases here. Scully learned to trust her feelings for Mulder, too.

You’re not really on the X-files until you flirt with your partner about institutionalization.

“You know, Monica, a room here just came open.”

“Or are they both of one mind, like a snake eating its own tail?” You mean this snake?

Scully’s tattoo was a symbol of her one mind with Mulder this whole time. I’ll take this headcanon.

Help, he meant “grinding up six coeds” literally.

Scully hasn’t formed an opinion yet, because of science, but also because she’s fair to her friends. While she may not be inclined to believe Monica, Doggett’s not exactly keeping an open mind right now.

“Perhaps you feel that chasing ghosts will answer the questions which damn you.” I think that’s true of all of them. For a job that offers so few concrete facts, just the act of doing the work seems to clarify what matters. Learning to ask the right questions is its own kind of answer.

“I know what you’re feeling.” I love it when Scully lets herself be Doggett’s friend. She was scared to be anything other than Mulder when they were partners, but she and Doggett are actually so like minded, and her experience puts her in the best position to encourage him.

Of course he’s still crushing on her.

“You can’t compete with the long-lost Agent Mulder.” Padgett knew she was in love with Mulder when she reached for Mulder’s arm. Kobold knows that she’s in love with Mulder when she does the same to Doggett. We can’t take her anywhere.

She’s really working this friendship with Monica right now. “Agent Reyes is just trying to get to the truth, okay?” That’s the moral compass of this office. If you’re not chasing the truth, you’re probably doing it wrong.

Baby goat is so worried for Scully.

HE DOTS HIS “i” and I can’t handle it.

“4-D”

AU Monica’s bike-fixing updo is on point.

Let’s set the whole season in Monica’s new apartment with the exposed brick walls.

Words can’t express how glad I am that this is our Doggett. He missed the movers, but he brought sausage!

WHY IS HE SO CUTE

She’s into it.

Baby goat seduces with food, and it is good.

I was promised a moment between these two that turned my friends into shippers (and almost broke their rewind button). As soon as she stepped toward him, I knew this was it.

GET IT REYES. GO FOR WHAT YOU WANT.

This is couple-y. This is a couple thing.

Not shy about how intimate this is.

The unbroken eye contact!

The way Scully tells Monica that she’s sorry about Doggett, it’s like she’s already picked up on the attraction between them. Scully knows partner chemistry when she sees it.

A madness shared by two?

“I saw something once. It’s only been the last couple of years that I’ve fully come to terms with it. In ’94 my father passed away, and that night, at the very moment that it happened, he came to me. I like to believe that he came to say goodbye.” She’s not afraid to believe anymore.

Skinner knows that Monica wouldn’t do this, and he’s willing to break the rules to help her. He’s such a good team leader.

Doggett won’t talk to anyone but his partner.

She’s glad to see him awake in any condition.

“TOO MUCH STAR TREK”

“My Doggett.” MY.

He trusts her even when she “sounds crazy,” and he’s willing to die if it means she can have her Doggett back. He DIES for her. And for their partnership.

Monica wraps her hands around his so protectively, like she’s holding on to something fragile and trying to keep it safe.

YAY.

Welcome back, baby goat.

And this is how much she loves him.

The universe made sure to bring him back right after the mustard wipe. The mustard wipe stands.

Doggett is basically kissing her hair right now.

“I’m good.” Yes you are.

“Lord of the Flies”

Little Aaron Paul’s first line is “yeah dudes,” which is just…so close.

“We work on the X-files. Our expertise is the unexplained.” One requirement of this job is that you must have at least five different ways to say, “We can’t promise any answers.”

They fall in step behind Scully like her two-person army. It’s beautiful.

Stand at attention.

Maintain a respectful distance at all times. Always walk at least one full pace behind Scully. Do not touch her hair.

“And you can call me Sheriff John when I haul your dumb ass off to jail.”

“How does one direct bugs?” Do you ever just think about Scully’s life?

Sometimes I hear Scully’s inner monologue in the voice of Maggie Smith on Downton Abbey.

I will applaud your discretion when you leave.

“You know, Rocky, I’m a mother.” With so many ways to end you.

Fall in.

Surreptitious glances are permitted.

“I’ve never had a partner before.” “I have!”

And you’re not him.

She sounds so grateful just to have had Mulder in the first place.

This guy does not get to tell Scully that she completes him. Although, to be fair, she completes us all.

“You got my number, partner.”

How is she even MORE dismissive when she’s cheerful?

Rocky is the worst, and I’m pretty sure that as a medical doctor, Scully can tell when someone is BREATHING.

I’ve missed a good Scully voiceover.

“In the struggle between our desire to determine who and what we will be and the identity which biology defines for us, there can only be one outcome. But even in victory, there are forces biology can not defeat—the stirring of the soul, the mysteries of desire, the simple truth that the heart wants what the heart wants.” She knows a little something about this.

“Trust No 1”

“One day, you’ll ask me to speak of a truth, of the miracle of your birth. To explain what is unexplained. And if I falter or fail on this day, know there is an answer, my child—a sacred, imperishable truth, but one you may never hope to find alone. Chance meeting your perfect other, your perfect opposite. Your protector and endangerer. Chance embarking with this other on the greatest of journeys, a search for truths fugitive and imponderable. If one day this chance may befall you, my son, do not fail or falter to seize it. The truths are out there. And if one day you should behold a miracle, as I have in you, you will learn the truth is not found in science, or on some unseen plane, but by looking into your own heart. And in that moment you will be blessed—and stricken. For the truest truths are what hold us together, or keep us painfully, desperately apart.”

Literally weeping.

MULDER IS SCULLY’S PERFECT OPPOSITE.

It has been “the greatest of journeys.” She wouldn’t change a day, even with everything it’s taken from them both. And the greatness is not in the truths, but in the search for them—a search that can’t be conducted alone, because the real truth is found in the people we choose to search with. It’s like Melissa told Scully on the Christmas Eve before she joined the Bureau: the path doesn’t matter as much as the people.

Scully’s truest truth is her relationship with Mulder, which ties them forever together but which, for now, means putting his well-being above her own desires.

Blessed and stricken by this montage.

I never thought I’d feel so much for a pair of umbrellas.

Yes, but it’s my…

This whole scene is just the editors admitting that they ship it.

I miss this height difference.

“And in that moment, you will be blessed.”

This is “the truest truth”–that he’ll call her when he’s lost, and she’ll come for him.

And what holds them together is that they won’t let each other fight alone.

She wants that email.

“Dearest Dana.” I’m not sure that Mulder would ever say that to her face, but I’m 100% sure that it’s exactly how he writes about her in his diary. At Mulder’s request, Scully never calls him Fox, but he calls her Dana when things get serious, and this separation has them both feeling pretty seriously. And she IS dearest to him. They’re getting real with each other. Mulder and Scully are both so sure that they don’t deserve happiness that it’s easier for them to admit to loving what they’ve already lost, but at least they’re admitting it.

“I’m lonely, Dana, uncertain of my ability to live like this. I want to come home. To you, and to William.” Scully and William are his home.

Same.

“I am physically shaking right now seeing your words. Wishing it were you speaking them to me. I want so badly to see you too, but you are still not safe here.” More getting real with each other! This is a great day for communication. Let’s make it safe here as soon as possible, so they can communicate with kisses.

She printed the email. She needed to carry his words in her pocket. Nooope.

Monica and Doggett both know that Scully knows how to contact Mulder.

Gurl please.

“This is somebody giving us a way that can make it safe for Mulder to come home.” It’s no secret that Scully is Mulder’s home. That’s why they believe people will come for them, and it’s why she’s afraid to take any chances. Scully’s doing exactly what Mulder did when the FBI first split them up and he would only communicate through picture frames and secret meetings. “Before, I could only trust myself. Now I can only trust you. And they’ve taken you away from me.”

When he was gone, Scully had to think like Mulder. Now she has to live like him. But Mulder said it then: “That’s hard, Scully—suspecting everyone, everything. It wears you down. You even begin to doubt what you know is the truth.” There’s a cost to living like Mulder, because it means missing out on a few genuine friendships. Mulder figured out eventually that he couldn’t live that way, that it was time to shake Doggett’s hand and accept that he’s got people now. No one gets there alone. Doggett is right; it’s going to take all of team Apollo 11 to bring Mulder back. Scully doesn’t need to trust this informant, but she needs to at least trust her friends. If she doesn’t talk to them, they’ll just go rogue and maybe cause more trouble anyway.

It’s so like her to keep Doggett at bay but invite a random mother into her home. Scully wants to help, and it really is in her nature to be trusting. She’s just afraid of getting legitimately close to friends who aren’t going anywhere.

“You don’t have anyone, do you?” “No, but I wish I did.”

LET ME HUG YOU

This is how she smiles at the thought of him coming back. Scully still has hope.

For someone who barely knows him, Monica is adorably worried about compromising Mulder’s return. She just wants everyone to be happy.

A little bummed she and Doggett aren’t listening to whale noises on their stakeout.

“I don’t plan on getting caught.” Oh well then carry on, baby goat.

Terry O’Quinn’s mustache is the MVP of this show. How does he play three separate characters and have a tiny mustache for all of them?

Very into this whole thing where Doggett and Monica pin a stranger to the floor of Scully’s hallway, Scully opens the door with her gun trained on Patti, and they all have a little chat. They’re such a good team.

Every time Scully cries, an angel takes a day off work to stay in bed, eat ice cream, and binge on Netflix.

“Mulder is the only one capable of making the connections.” What a way to draw him out. What a way to prompt Scully to draw him out—by appealing to what she knows to be true. No one’s mind works like Mulder’s.

“I’m not going to give you anything unless I can meet you. Unless I—unless I can see your face. Are you still there?”

Answer me when I threaten you.

“You said I had to trust someone, right? Well that’s what I’m doing.” Potentially the wrong someone, but she’s got to try. This is probably why Scully wouldn’t even hear it from Doggett and Monica; she knew that if she let herself get close to this, if she actually talked to the man who offered a way to save Mulder, she wouldn’t be able to say no, even with the risks. But she also trusts Monica to watch William, so at least she’s not completely shutting them out.

“Is it absolutely necessary to get innocent people hurt?” Being a shadowy government figure is no excuse not to have a little decency.

Goodbye, Scully’s clothes.

You’ll be fine you have like eight black coats.

“How the hell do you know my size?” For whatever reason, “how the hell”/ “why the hell not” is one of my favorite Scully-isms. She always says it like she’s going to kick down a door. She’s not happy, and she’s going to make it known, no matter how much she needs what this guy can offer.

“And I know that on one lonely night, you invited Mulder to your bed.” [Cue the friend who introduced me to this show silently getting up and walking out of her apartment. Because we’re talking about that night, but we still can’t see it.]

I don’t think Shadow Man is implying that it only happened once—only that it started one lonely night. Also, this means it’s canon that their first night was at her place, as if we needed more proof that they were doing it before “all things.”

Don’t call her “lady.”

“I’m worried now about what it is I’ve gotten you into.” Doggett isn’t used to Scully taking his advice. I don’t think he expected to get this far. Like Mulder, Doggett might need her to question him more than he realized.

“Cause this guy knows Mulder resurfaces only if the one person he trusts asks him to.” The one person he trusts. Their privacy goes both ways.

Sweet low ponytail, Scull.

Scully and Mulder worked out his return before he even left. They can’t be apart without knowing they have a way back to each other.

“Mulder’s on a train. He’ll be here at midnight.”

SO READY

“I wanna see him so bad.” Scully’s case reports are like novels, but she’s so raw right now that it’s got her sounding like a teenager. She doesn’t have her usual eloquent filter. She just wants Mulder.

She wore lighter clothes to see him again, like she was coming out of mourning.

Nothing about this is fair.

The way she shouts his name at the train kills me. He’s right there. She’s so close, and all she can do is watch as he passes by.

“I hold no hope you can respond to this. Or that it reaches you. I only hope that you are alive.” But she writes to him anyway. These two can’t stop shouting each other’s names, no matter how far apart they are. It centers them. Just the act of reaching out makes them feel like they’re moving in the right direction.

“I am scared for you, Mulder. And for William. The forces against us are unrelenting. But so is my determination. To see you again. To regain the comfort and safety we shared for so brief a time.” WAY TOO BRIEF. Mulder and Scully were comfortable and safe for too short a time. They were happy. But they’re not giving up.

“Until then, I remain forever yours… Dana.” Scully really has been Mulder’s since the beginning. She’s his biggest defender. She’s the one who chose to stay with him. She’s always in his camp, and he’s always her motivation. Her loyalty lies with him, and now with their family, before anyone else.

Look who got adorable.

“John Doe”

Even when he doesn’t know who he is, Doggett is not down for police violence.

“Maybe I like to hop.”

This t-shirt is WORKING.

You can’t buy Doggett’s allegiance. No amount of lost memory can change that.

Good news: Scully and Skinner are on this.

Never leave a partner behind.

To quote one of the friends who introduced me to this show, “And Reyes is all, ‘Hell yeah I speak Spanish, dumbasses.'”

I also like leather jackets, and I really like my partner.

“Pillar of the community? Does anyone actually use that phrase except mob lawyers?” Monica Reyes does not play.

“Your only personal hope for the future is that I find him alive.” She is getting her partner back or sending this guy’s John Deere off a cliff with him on it.

Doggett is so endearingly desperate on the phone. He’s less concerned for himself than he is for the people who are probably missing him.

I hope Monica can sense that he’s wearing this striped button down.

“He’s different.” He IS, and it’s why this episode could only be about Doggett. Mulder follows his ideals; Scully follows Mulder; Monica follows her instincts. They’ve all got integrity, but it’s deeply personal, defined by what they’ve loved. Doggett’s integrity seems to exist outside of his personal experience, which he tries to keep out of the field anyway. He’s obviously shaped by the love of his son, so much so that it brings him back to himself, but that’s not what gives him his backbone. He does what’s right because it’s right. The first promise he made Scully was that he’d find Mulder “whatever they may differ on.” Doggett doesn’t like to focus on himself, which means losing himself changes very little about how he operates.

“Well, actually he doesn’t know that I’m here. Nor does he know that Skinner is headed to Mexico to consult with the Federal Police.” Rogue friend-finding Scully is at least as good as rogue autopsy Scully. She’s so excited to help.

The dirtier and angrier he gets, the more I’m into it.

Maybe not the context in which I most want these two to push each other against a bus, but at least they’re reunited.

“I’m your partner, Monica. Your name is John Doggett. You’re an FBI agent. Do you remember?” I would not be this calm if a man brought me Polish sausage and then got amnesia, but this is why I am not Monica Reyes.

She makes sure to tell Doggett that even though they haven’t worked together long, they’ve known each other for years. She doesn’t frame it as a work thing. Their relationship is personal before it’s professional.

“Luke. How old is Luke?” Ohhhh, baby goat. I am so sorry.

She doesn’t even have to say what happened, because he remembers his pain just by looking at her face. Doggett comes back to himself because Monica feels for him so completely. I’m FINE.

This breakdown is devastating.

Baby goaaaaaat

There might be a part of Monica that’s relieved to see him coming back, but there’s no part of her that’s happy to see him face his worst nightmare again.

I love the way she touches his arm before she runs off, like, Hey friend, not abandoning you, just going to save our lives.

YES I HEAR EVERYTHING YOU ARE SAYING AND WOULD LIKE A RECORD OF EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER SAID BECAUSE I THINK IT WOULD HELP ME LIVE MY LIFE BETTER

“Get in the bus.”

Nobody puts baby goat in a corner.

Doggett really loves hotwiring buses.

Skinner to the rescue.

You can kiss now, if you want.

“You failed, you son of a bitch.”

“Why would you want to remember? You can’t tell me you’re happier now, because you recall your life. I saw it all. So much pain. Why would you want to struggle, so long, and hard, to get that pain back?” “Because it’s mine.” Doggett plays his past so close to his chest. It’s a big deal for him to own it like this. I don’t think even he realized how much he was defined by what he went through.

And Monica is once again completely focused on his pain. The first thing she says isn’t that she’s glad he’s back, but that she’s sorry he had to relive it.

“I’ll take the bad as long as I remember the good.” Oh look, it’s the thesis of the entire ninth season.

Hi everyone! I’m back (like Doggett’s memories). I can’t tell you how sorry I am for this unexpected hiatus. December’s been a very full month. It’s mostly been full of good things. Maybe I watched 37 episodes of The X-Files (and one Fight the Future) with my mom when I went home for Christmas. I’m also on call for my job every weekend, and I have a cold I can’t shake, but let’s not get mired in excuses. I missed you. I’m back now. I’m just as in love with this show as ever, even if this season is messed up. And in the spirit of the coming new year, please send Mulder to kiss me as the ball drops let me just say that I could not be more grateful to have spent so much of 2014 with all of you. These characters and their refusal to make out have changed my life in more ways than one, and you along with them. I hope you’ve all had happy holidays.

85 comments

I think the tag line for the season should be “Why can’t Scully and Mulder have nice things, Chris Carter?!” But I digress.

I will never not see “Bitch Please” in the credits now thanks to you, so thanks for that!

Yeah, the whole “Mulder going on the run without Scully and William” thing was a huge point of contention, and I understand the real-world reasons behind it, but it doesn’t mean I had to like it, I guess. I’m still pretending he just went out to get some milk because they ran out, because I live in denial, always.

YES to Knowle Rohrer, Rural Juror. HEE. Funny then, funnier after “30 Rock.” (Especially because it’s not like the show could have just spelled it “Noel” on top of the mouthful it already was.) I’m pretending “30 Rock” came up with that entire skit solely based on Knowle Rohrer. Oh, poor Adam Baldwin. Heh.

I do love the badass team they become in season 9, and YES to some kickass lady business going on. It’s the little things that make us happy.

“Trust No 1,” sigh. It hurts so much. I have to admit when the episode first aired, I was convinced the whole Mulder email thing was a ruse, because why would he ever write “Dearest Dana,” and was waiting for the “gotcha!” at the end of the episode, where Scully let on that she knew it was fake because COME ON Mulder would never write that unless he was alerting her that something was fishy, but then it turned out it was totally true and that made it even more heartbreaking. (But at least she looked so pretty while breaking our hearts.)

Good on you for staying so positive amidst such a trying season! Can’t wait to see what else you have to say.

My very first reaction to “Dearest Dana” was that Mulder would never say it. My second reaction was that he was totally trying to throw off the spies of the internets. (Although I thought of it as a general misdirection, not a code to Scully that something was up, which is a cool idea!) But then I decided to just go with it, because he probably thinks of her that way allll the time, and it’s about time for these two to get real with their feelings. (Also I have a compulsive need to justify things.)

I really appreciate you trying to find the positives during this season. It’s no secret that it’s a bit hard to get through, but a lot of people don’t even give it a chance and miss out on the good stuff that’s mixed in with the (sometimes infuriating) not-so-good stuff. It’s also refreshing to see someone getting behind Reyes. I think she got kind of shortchanged at times, but I liked the character and wished she had more of a chance to develop. I also loved when she and Scully got to be badass together. I’m looking forward to seeing you go over Improbable, since it’s one of my favorites in Season 9 due to the fun Scully/Reyes interaction.

Oh thanks so much!! Season 9 has a lot of problems, for sure, but I’m in this to look for the positives, so I’m really glad there are still a lot of positives to be found! And I totally agree that Reyes has been shortchanged; I think they wrote her really inconsistently in season 8, and she still hasn’t gotten as much development as I want. But I’m glad to see Scully find a female friend, and Monica can hold her own. So I’m on board!

I think part of the problem isn’t really Reyes…it’s Gish. Poor thing. I thought it was the character when it first aired, but I later saw Gish in other roles and realized, bless her heart, but she’s not very good lol. She was just in the U.S. take on “The Bridge” too, and while her character was interesting, it was just…I wanted her to stop talking because once she started talking the character disappeared. She looked good though, then and now, her face can act really well…and her body language, just…not her voice.

She does indeed cry well! Like I said, I only came to the realization after seeing her in other roles. And I still seek her in other roles, because regardless of her skills, she’s a part of the show, and that gives her tele cred B-) I’ll watch anything she’s in, same as DD, GA, RP, MP, WBD, MR, CM, NL, the occasional surprise appearance of Bruce, & Dean (and rare Braidwood sightings, oh my!), ect…even minor people (making shows like Bones, Supernatural, Fringe & Cold Case that much more exciting – ooh! Kritschgau! X! Pendrell lives!!!). But I am a fan fully aware of their talents…I’m a fan despite their talents lol – Sara Koskoff is very…ungood, but that’s fine, she’s XF family, and seeing her make an appearance on If These Walls Could Talk still made me SQUEE! and she WAS a little better by Love Liza. Always good to see any of them 🙂

Gillian’s tears are one of the most powerful things we have on this earth. And yes! I love when XF people turn up elsewhere. Bones has had a lot of them. But that makes sense, given that they compared Booth and Brennan to Mulder and Scully IN THE PILOT. And they shoot on the same soundstage. They knew what they were doing.

The surveillance montage and the little truth speech reminded me of our comment discussion in season 8: we have not all been invited in their lives, we’re here to crash this party and roam in their private and professional lives. I also think this was the editors’ answer to the than emerging art of fanvidding: I always thought they were like…and now, if we were to make a MSR fanvid, that’s how it would look like. I kinda of prefer some of snakey’s work 😉
I wish I remembered more about the super soldier conspiracy. Thank you for having a go at it, Kelly!

Ahhh I am so so so excited to see everyone’s favorite fanvids. It’ll be the one upside of finishing the show. (I’m trying to save them!) But YES, that montage totally feels like the editors were vidding MSR. They noticed all of the little glances just like we did.

I LOVE your point about how we’re not invited in. We watch them from the outside, and the fact that they’ve been constantly under surveillance speaks to that. We’re just spectators here, and we don’t get every moment between them, but what we do get is enough to make us feel like we know them pretty well, because there’s so much meaning in every interaction.

Hahahah I’m still kind of lost on the super soldier thing. Maybe they’ll explain it eventually. Maybe 🙂

Snakey’s are the BEST! OMG, the crack!vids lmao…When you’re done, you definitely have to watch those…all of them…lots of them. You could waste a day 🙂 Here’s a link for your later convenience (and to tease your resistance…because you know you’d rather watch now…like right now – don’t! But you know you want to) — https://www.youtube.com/user/snakey973/videos

Oh, and we should really discuss this in more detail later, giving you recs and all (ha! one day – you could waste a week of your lifetime if we include some other masterpieces from other “auteurs” 😉 ) But what ALWAYS gets to me are videos set to “Walking after you” by the Foo Fighters because as opposed to fans’ (our own) song choices, this is a canon MSR song from Fight the Future. It was written for the soundtrack and Dave Groehl has talked a lot about his fascination with the show but also with Mulder and Scully’s relationship. He is an original shipper from way back then and that song was written for them. That just gets to me EVERY time. ‘Cause as a bonus, it’s a really good song (methinks!) and one that actually gets them.

Love Walking After You…it was always on my super-secret-don’t-tell-anyone-I’m-a-girly-shipper MnS lovestory soundracks lol (with subtle titles like “Dox & Faina” because I was a cool tomboy yo…not some silly romantic, psht), right there with Crazy for You (which came first). When Grohl had that interview during the movie promotions and talked about what a fan he was and what the song was about for him, I was like – BOOM! Suck it Carter…but to myself, watching it alone in my room with my dog (Skullie) I snuck in through the window, because the only 2 friends I had that watched were staunch noromos. Without those interwebs we were too broke to have, there was no one to revel excitedly with 😦

So I’ve been reading these for a while and I’ve decided this category of posts is MY FAVORITE THING ON THE INTERNET EVER. It makes me happy when I’m sad.
Really, mentioning the Rural Juror and Ron Swanson’s wife (<< also, an FBI agent on Veronica Mars!) on the same page is fangirl genius I've never seen before. Can we be BFFs, pretty please?

And now for something other than gushing – I didn't watch the last two season in the original airing 10 years ago because I was in the army, but I knew enough in the years since to watch only the essentials; Per Manum, trustno1 etc. Could never bring myself to watch episodes with any DD in them. But this post makes me feel like I should, thanks to you. So maybe I will, and hopefully I won't hate it.

Just curious though, how did you get so attached to the show so quickly considering this is the first time you watch it?

Oh my gosh, thank you so much!! Hahah yes, ALWAYS down for internet BFFs who appreciate Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, AND The X-Files.

I’m so glad I’ve made you reconsider the last two seasons! Obviously everything is better with Mulder, and they can be rough seasons at times, but there are still at least SOME gems (Roadrunners was really realllllyy good, and I’ve liked 4-D and John Doe so far in season 9). And even the episodes that aren’t too great at least have Scully in them. I thought her season 8 arc was so interesting. Hopefully you find things to enjoy about them!

I did get attached REALLY quickly to this show! I tend to be a little obsessive, so this has been known to happen, but even for me, The X-Files is at another level. Mulder and Scully just have that magic. They drew me in from the start. Writing these posts also helped get me into the show, because it gave me a chance to think about the characters, and the more I thought about them, the more I fell in love with them. Getting to talk about the show with friends every week has made it that much more exciting for me. I feel like I’ve really been swept up in the spirit of it all, and I love it!

I’m literally wiping the tears from my eyes as I type this. I have only watched the entirety of S9 once. ONCE. I’m sending you all the virtual love and hugs that I can possibly spare.

The opening monologue from Trust No1 is basically the highlight of S9 for me, it’s so on point and perfect and everything that you need to hear at that very moment in time, and pretty much any and all moments in time.

Thank you for preventing me from full on sobbing by your continued Baby Goat references and jokes about Knowle Rohrer 🙂

Also, this statement pretty much sums up how I feel about the whole series:
Every time Scully cries, an angel takes a day off work to stay in bed, eat ice cream, and binge on Netflix.

Hang in there – I can see the finish line from here!

PS – If I had Mulder to send your way for New Years, I would. Seems I’ve misplaced him here somewhere… 😉

I love your blog!! I get way too excited when make a new post. 🙂 I’m gonna be really sad when it’s over though. Maybe you can draw IWTB out into like maybe 3 or 4 posts? Or maybe you can re-bingewatch and do it all over again? Yes?

Thank you so much! I’m going to be so sad when this experience is over, but I’ll definitely be rewatching, so I might have to do something with that 🙂 And I’m sure I’ll be doing plenty of other XF posts, too! (A salute to Skinner, maybe???)

Hey Kelly! Happy New Year. Do you think you’ll do an overview post on how they’ve changed over the 9 seasons? Because season 9 Scully is DEFINITELY NOT season 6 Scully or season 1 Scully. Season 9 Scully has arguably the best hair, but I do also think that Season 4 Scully will wear that crown forever….. anyway, enough getting side tracked by hair.

I had four thoughts about the episodes you just saw. Bet you can’t wait to hear them 😉

– I think the writers could have come up with a better excuse to get Mulder out of there. I don’t know what. But better than Knowle Rohr’s murder. I mean, how many times did the guy shoot and kill someone in the series? He got out of Scott Ostlehoff for crying out loud.

– I BLOODY LOVE how Scully wears a shirt on maternity leave. I always reblog that on Tumblr when I see it because Scully is always ready for action. The FBI never sleeps, and neither does Dana Scully.

– Do you buy the Monica/Doggett attraction? I feel that Doggett is very quick to change his love from Scully to Reyes (and I do think he was in love with Scully), and I think that Reyes’ attraction is mighty convenient…but without much depth. Having said that, I like Reyes. I like that she smiles and jokes and smokes and challenged Mulder when he was being a dick.

Hi!! Oooh, that’s a great idea–looking at how the characters change throughout the series. I’ll definitely be doing a post about their relationship and why it’s my favorite on TV (or anywhere), but that would be really interesting too! I’ll try to do that. Scully is definitely different this season, as she was in season 8. It’s really interesting to see who she is without Mulder, after she’s been shaped by him for so long.

I totally agree that they could have found a better excuse, or at least explained whatever THIS excuse is a little better, because where I am now, I still don’t entirely get it. You’re right; they’ve faced threats like this before. It’s just so vague!

The fact that she wears business attire on maternity leave basically sums up Dana Katherine Scully. Always ready to jump into the fray. She’s a gift.

I do buy the Monica/ Doggett attraction. It’s not on the same scale as MSR, depth-wise, but nothing is, and I don’t think it’s supposed to be. It’s DEFINITELY convenient, and I totally see what you mean about how he’s pretty quick to transfer his feelings from Scully to Reyes, but he knows his feelings for Scully are one-sided. He LOVES her and is clearly really attached to her, but she loves Mulder, and Doggett wants her to be happy. In that sense, I’ve always seen his romantic feelings for Scully as more of a crush, like Skinner. (The fact that everyone in Scully’s life has at least some level of crush on her is one of my favorite things this show does, because of COURSE they do. Who wouldn’t??)

So I see Monica as the one who pulls him out of that–the requited love to pull him out of the unrequited love–because he’s a smart guy, and he knows he deserves affection in return. I also think one of the smartest things the show did, in terms of that relationship, is give them a history. They’re already friends. Like, I don’t think Doggett would let someone he just met pull him out of his feelings for Scully, but I totally buy that he would return the affection of a friend who really cares for him, because I think that’s all he wants. She was with him through a really difficult time of his life, which is kind of this show’s M.O., relationship-wise, and we see from Monica’s first scene that he already makes exceptions for her (asking everyone to hear her out on a theory that he would normally dismiss outright), so I think it was pretty obvious even then that he had feelings for her. They’re also really different people who think differently, which is another thing this show loves–the idea that we seek relationships with people who expand our horizons. Scully believes in things that Doggett doesn’t, but they think really similarly, in the long run.

But I’m also pretty inclined to ship things that I know are going to happen, so I went into this already primed for it, in a way 🙂

HE’S SO HOT IN JOHN DOE. That’s basically the thesis of half of my notes for that episode.

I buy it…but I think Doggett & Reyes already had a connection before he ever met Scully. So then he meets this goddess, and yeah, who doesn’t crush on her? But she got a man…if only she can find him, and if she can’t, well, hey now, Skinner was first! He’s been waiting so patiently. 😉 Nah, actually I think it’s a more familial love that most end up having for her. I mean, she’s hAWT, no doubt, and the world knows it, but I’m pretty sure Carter mentioned once how Skinner really was like a father figure for both agents – especially as they both ended up fatherless. So his dad sweaters and “let’s go fishing!” outgear just makes sense. Doggett fell into place as a brother…and not the Lannister type either (I mean…he WOULD be, if he ever thought that was an option, but he knows it’s totally not…life must be really, REALLY hard – no pun intended, but…heh – for the brothers of really hot women). When Reyes shows up in his life again, it’s not like, “Oh, Scully’s off limits, so I’ll go after Reyes,” but more like, “Hey, my girl Reyes is back! OMG, the dreams…”

Agreed! I think however Doggett felt for Scully, he wasn’t going to do anything about it once it became clear that her heart was taken, so that just freed him up to realize how he felt about Reyes when she came back into his life. And Dad!Skinner is my favorite, always.
What a weird little family they all are. I love them.

But I get that the writers were backed into a corner
i think that might be the motto of season 9. smh.

We’re being placated with shirtlessness. I accept.
heh.

Scully trusts Doggett as much as she trusts anyone who isn’t Mulder, Skinner excepted.
mm hmm. as shitty as the whole situation was, robert patrick did such a great job making the most of what he had. i’m not sure too many actors could have made us adore doggett. but i do.

not sure how i feel about “scullbags.” LOL.

Is any part of Scully’s life not an X-file at this point? Is there anything good?
another possible S9 motto.

Skinner’s adventure outfit is the most ‘dad raking leaves before a football game’ outfit imaginable.
LOL!

“Revolutions start, things that change the world forever, and even kings can miss them if they’re not paying attention.”
one of my favorite quotes.

Chalkboards look good on Scully.
everything looks good on scully in S9.

If you’re not chasing the truth, you’re probably doing it wrong.
word.

Literally weeping.
in general, i’m torn about the voice-overs. some of them are too too for me. but this one, as gooey as it is, got rewound eleventy thousand times.

“Trust No 1,” in general, about broke me.

i’m pretty much over any and all amnesia storylines at this point (looking at you, Castle) but i dig “John Doe” because of the badass factor. (and the hotness.)

“I’ll take the bad as long as I remember the good.” Oh look, it’s the thesis of the entire ninth season.
this one is definitely the fan motto. i’ll never understand the people who gave up on the show entirely. it definitely wasn’t the same without mulder, but it was still a really good show. and the story was still unfolding!! grr. i have no patience for the quitters where this show is concerned.

Ahh thank you!! I’ve been so fanvid starved. I’m doing it on purpose, but still. I WANT FANVIDS. That was so good! Now I’m feeling season 8 things again.

Hahaha I read that Gillian called herself Scullbags (or Scullbag?) and that it’s what she signs her emails to David, and it brings me so much joy.

Dad Skinner continues to be a bright spot in this season, as does Scully’s ability to look good in/ on/ next to everything.

YEP, it’s a gooey voiceover, but it’s a gorgeous one. It sums up their relationship, and the value Scully places on that relationship, so perfectly.

I am a huuuuuge sucker for amnesia storylines, which I blame on the fact that I watched a lot of All My Children in my formative years. John Doe was always going to be up my alley, but I’m glad it delivered. (And I haven’t been following all of Castle this season, but from what I’ve seen, it’s basically a retread of Alias season 3. And I don’t even mind, because I am THAT MUCH of a sucker for amnesia storylines.)

Yay, glad you liked the vid. There are a million MSR vids on the ‘tube, of course, including many fabulous ones. When you dive into that pool, set aside a month or two. But this one just struck a chord with me because it was so different and well done. And the song is perfect.

Well, if Gillian uses that term, then that obviously changes everything. It’s now my new favorite thing. 😉

Ha, I grew up on AMC, too. My mother was devoted. And Castle… *sigh*. I love that show to pieces, but I think it’s run its course. I’m quietly hoping that everyone involved decides this season should be the last, given that the actors’ contracts are up. (I never watched Alias, so I can’t comment on the retread sitch.)

Thank you so much for continuing to write about the show. I watched it back when it aired, and since then I have basically watched it over and over. If I had devoted half the time and energy to something else as I have to the x-files, i would probably be pretty successful. Lol. But every moment was worth it. There are no episodes I’ve seen fewer than 19 times (I’m on my 20th run through), and there are some episodes I have seen over 100 times. The X-Files is MY touchstone, and seeing it affect a new watcher has been amazing for me. Anyway, I really appreciate what you are doing. I loved the season 1 tmasshmotw video someone posted on youtube… I don’t have that sort of talent, but it would be awesome if someone could do the same for the other seasons. You really have hit the important, great moments. Can’t wait til the next installation. You should make an app that lists the episodes and movies with the option to read your commentary, read comments, and submit comments. Throw in some polls and charge $2 for it. I would totally buy that.

THANK YOU! I’m so glad to have had this experience with The X-Files and so excited to keep revisiting it. Nothing else is quite like this show. And aw, that’s so nice of you to say! I could never charge people to talk about Mulder and Scully 🙂
I’m working on the next post, so I hope to have it out soon! It’s my birthday today, which is keeping me a bit more busy (as are the Golden Globes, since I’ll have to go into the office), but I really want to share it with everyone as soon as possible.

“And I know that on one lonely night, you invited Mulder to your bed.”
I clearly remember when I saw the scene for the first time many years ago.
I felt so vulnerable, as if not only Scully’s, but the intimacy of us all too, was being destroyed by this sentence. I mean, who is this man? Why is he the only one to have seen what we were craving to see for years? [Chris you are a genius and I hate you!]

Anyway I’ve got a theory about how things went.
I’ve always believed Mulder and Scully’s first time together was after Scully tried to have a baby and did not succeed. They were not together before this, otherwise why should she be so embarassed when she asked him if he wanted to be the father? I happened that lonely night when she came back home and Mulder was waiting for her asleep on her couch.
We saw it in a flashback in “per manum”, so we do not know exactly when it did happen. It must be somewhere before the “season of secret sex” began. But definetly it was not their only time..
Even though “all things” is a good condidate for their first time too…

uuuahhhhh! I can’t believe I’m still conjecturing about this after so many years!
Kelly, we all love you for giving new life this!

ehm, well…since I haven’t stopped conjecturing, as you wisely suggested me… I got an other “theory” about “all things”: while skipping through it (I know this should not be done, because eps are supposed to be watched over and over again entirely, till you know every dialogue by heart and the soundtrack* too, I apologize!) I run into that moment when Daniel (the only name makes me unconfortable) tells Scully “I know you have a life now”. And she answers: “I don’t know what I have…”
????
If we have previously and rightly conjectured that “all things” is not their first time, this must be BEFORE the flash back of “Per Manum”. I mean, how can you possibly say you don’t know what you have, when you’ve got Mulder who has said yes to your desire to have a baby and now he’s doing his best to help that miracle come true?

So the “theory”: what if “all things” is not at all about sex?
Mulder sleeps in his bed, like he never does, ok. But in the end of the episode we see him going away and leaving Scully on the couch. He could not sleep on the kitchen table..
Mulder is definitely naked: ok, but men usually sleep half-naked. Especially when they are really good looking and living in tv serials instead of real life.
Scully is getting dressed in Mulder’s bathroom: what if she just took a shower to compensate for that long bath she wanted to take at the beginning of the episode, just because it was saturday and she did not feel like flying to England to check crop circles?

*just a short footnote abot the soundtrack of these last seasons: I don’t like “Scully’s theme”, that one with the voice singing “aaaaaaahaaaahhhaaa …. aaaah”, just like Ariel to Ursula, which plays when she cries over something (i.e. always). Am I the only one? (in case, please don’t kill me)

Conjecture away! What fun is this vague, maddening, wonderful show if we can’t conjecture?

I do totally think that they have sex in “all things,” though, and that it isn’t the first time. I think an experience like the one Scully went through in “Per Manum” is actually the BEST way to explain why she’s questioning her life. She knows she can lean on Mulder in this, but she’s still facing a lot of personal uncertainty and loss right now, trying to come to terms with the fact that science says she’ll never have a child. That, plus what I think is a fairly new thing in her life where suddenly she and Mulder are sleeping together, could totally lead her to wonder what she has. Where is this thing going with Mulder? That’s how I see it, anyway. Scully’s life is in a time of change, and she’s trying to process it. But like I said, it’s cool that there are so many ways to interpret!

As for “Scully’s Theme,” it causes way too much pain for me to ever say I “like” it, but I do think it fits the mood.

You’ve come the episode I said I’d post about which is 4-D. I was predisposed to like this one even when it first aired because AU, time travel and time manipulation stories are to me what amnesia stories are for you. I can’t resist them and also enjoyed this same writer’s Season Eight contribution, the episode about that guy living the days backwards. As Season Nine progressed towards its conclusion, 4 – D became more than just a cool episode to me. It became the hope I cling to because it offers an alternative. Here we saw two alternate, equally valid X Files universes in which things can happen differently. This episode makes two universes canon. You know Reyes’s reference to “her” Doggett? Well, there might be several possibilities with respect to “our” X Files:
1. Maybe we were watching our X Files up until 4-D but Doggett and Reyes died in our X Files so unbeknownst to us, we watched the rest of the season in the other universe. Back on our X Files poor D & R are gone but Scully, Mulder and other characters carry on with potentially a very different outcome.
2. Or possibly we were watching our X Files through the first seven seasons then switched to the other universe for seasons 8 & 9, except for a brief glimpse of our X Files in 4-D where we see Doggett and Reyes get killed. This could explain so much about things just seeming “off” in these last two seasons and not always making sense. This possibility would yield one XF universe in which things go tragically wrong for D & R and one in which they go tragically wrong for M & S (not to mention other characters). Fair enough I’d say. Each set of agents gets “their” universe in which things turn out okay. One bit of evidence for this possibility is Scully’s telling Reyes that she “saw something ONCE” when in fact, in the Season Eight we were watching she witnessed that phenomenon a second time, in TINH, when Mulder’s ghost appeared to her. This would suggest that THAT Scully (the one who said she saw a ghost only once) was from our Season 1-7 X Files and in that, our Mulder didn’t die in Season Eight. Jerimiah Smith got to him in time or whatever so Scully has no recollection of seeing Mulder’s ghost. This would suggest that it was Reyes, not Doggett who was sucked into the wrong universe in 4 – D but I think that works just as well. The episode leaves us with some paradoxes anyway such as why does only Reyes remember the whole mix up? Shouldn’t the healthy Doggett she hugs in the end recall having been in a different universe for a while too?
3. Maybe throughout all 9 seasons of the series we skipped between universes! That could explain some inconsistencies, like how Scully could have received her crucifix necklace once as birthday gift and another time for Christmas.
4. Even if every single bit of the X Files we ever saw took place in our X Files universe other than the brief intersection with the other universe in 4-D, STILL there is a second universe established by canon where things might turn out quite differently from what we saw in Season Nine. That is my happy place and port in the storm.

Hi! Oh my gosh I love this. All of it. This gives me so much to think about. You’re right–no matter what, 4-D definitely establishes a second, very similar universe as canon, and that opens up a literal universe of possibilities. Maybe some of those possibilities are even happy. Hm. Hmmmmmmmmm. I’m going to be thinking about this all night now.

Kelly and everyone here:
Happy New Year! and maybe if we’re lucky enough we might gonna have a happy new X File movie, too.
Sorry for the delay on feedbacking this – I’ve been busy tryind to translate my on blog into English since I’ve been having lots of foreigner visitors (Yaaayyyyy!!!).
But just know that my reveillon got so much better when I saw there was a new post from you!
Have a wonderful and inspiracional 2015!

Carter’s typical cryptic answer is “never say never” Everyone says they’re on board all the time, but nothing seems to move forward. They should totally take it to Kickstarter. I think part of the problem might be lack of trust on what he’ll end up making. Everyone expected an ultimate XF comeback movie in 2008, but that’s not what happened. No questions were answered that were brought up by the finale, and…it wasn’t really an X-File! I still liked the movie…just…it was totally not an X-File, and definitely not a way to try jumping back into the series. With how great TV’s been lately, they could do a great miniseries for it, though Gillian mentioned she didn’t want to reunite it on TV (don’t be silly GA! You do so much good for TV), but was totally interested in a movie. Then on Reddit was “sorta kinda” vague about it. Oy. These kids. And you! *shakes a fish at Chris Carter* …you.

Awesome. I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the season! I’ll admit to being slightly worried that you’d disappeared because you started watching and got all, “WTF, Chris Carter?!?!??” and ran away for a while. It’s been known to happen. Like you said though, there’s plenty of positives to enjoy in this season. It’s different, but still good…and if you look at each season, they’re all a bit different, so in that sense, it’s just the show as usual (which you can totally get into more detail about when you get to that comparing seasons project idea you mentioned) – there are things that go on that don’t make sense, but that’s just like the show! lol…it’s always been known for having things happen that don’t really make sense. Hope you don’t mind that I couldn’t resist responding to some of your awesome commenters as well, because they made valid posts or else just reminded me of things. We are a good group of fans, we can appreciate Doggett being awesome in John Doe B-) So anyway…I think I covered most of my adulations in responses to them. Next time you rewatch seasons 8 & 9, be sure to have friends so you can play the Knowle Rohrer Drinking Game! You could play alone, but…that might be sad. I think someone did a tally once of how many times the name is said over the spread of episodes, but I don’t recall the outcome.

So sad yet exciting that you’re almost done…

I hope you rewatched How the Ghosts Stole Christmas for the holidays! We had a Skype viewing of it…not that I’d ever used Skype, so I had to download it and it wouldn’t connect on my laptop and then I tried my phone, but then the laptop started working, but they couldn’t figure out how to get me up into the conversation, then they couldn’t hear me and OMG Skype is lame. By the time it was all figured out, the episode was over & we just talked for an hour or two. Totally doing it again…although we missed eachother for New Year’s Millenium rewatch – I was supposed to be at the beach, but it rained…so I fell asleep. Woo! 2015! *strips*

Oh thanks!! I was worried that people would think I went radio silent because I lost interest. I really just lost time! (9 MINUTES?) December did not let up. But I’m still all in for this show, even though I’ve got some definite problems with season 9. But yes, there will definitely be some sort of Knowle Rohrer bingo in effect next time.

SAME! I want to be caught up, to watch the fanvids and know how it all turns out, but I don’t want this to end. At least I’ll have re-watching (and the hope of XF3!). I definitely watched How the Ghosts Stole Christmas while I was home and then talked at my mom for 45 minutes about what I think it says about Mulder and Scully. Call it a new tradition 🙂

Oh god Trust No 1 ended me. Just that whole montage and her monologue and then the emails and then the ‘one lonely night’ line. Also the idea of there being surveillance footage of their whole relationship. And someone watching it. Gah. Then that bit in William where she was considering whether or not the burnt guy was Mulder or not and she told Doggett and Reyes that if Mulder looked like that it wouldn’t even matter. Good god I just want to marry her.

And can I just say that I wish the whole of season 9 had been 45 minute long episodes of Scully’s lectures? I would watch all of her lectures. And her shutting down all the hecklers and defending Mulder and just watching her try to scientifically explain some of the stuff she and Mulder had to do. She is freaking amazing.

I really don’t know how I feel about CC and co giving her all those nice things at the end of last season and now her having ALL OF THEM taken away. I just don’t know.

I would absolutely watch a season of Scully’s lectures. Agh. Now I NEED IT. Definitely better than watching CC rip every bit of happiness away from Scully all year. My flawless queen. She’s been through so much already!

Yep, it’s bringing back all the angry feels I felt in Per Manum. She’s a flawless human being and she deserves EVERY GOOD THING.
Also I don’t know how to feel about you finishing. Can you do a Best Of? Please?

OMG!! I found these posts a few days ago when I was looking for something else and I don’t even remember what it was… hehe. I just finished reading all 21 volumes and loved them!

I think the last time I re-watched the show was when IWTB came out but I remember being soooo obsessed with it when it first aired! My mother always hated it when she caught me watching again… XD I thought I didn’t remember that much of it but your posts are bringing so many good memories!! 😀

I’m a little sad I found them this near the end and I didn’t get to re-watch all the episodes with you. I gotta admit, I was one of those who hated S8 & S9. I watched them the first time and never watched those episodes again. But you made me look at them in a more positive light, hehehe. Right now, I want to take out the DVDs and give them another chance. Obviously, it’s not the same but maybe it wasn’t all that bad… ^_^

Oh thank you so much! That’s so great! Fortunately the posts are always here as people rewatch (and I’m not quite done yet! I’m going to be so sad when I am). And I’m glad I’ve made you reconsider the later seasons. They’re definitely not the same, and I completely would have felt the same if I’d watched live, but they’re not all that bad, no! I liked a lot about season 8. Scully’s story was fascinating. Season 9 is a lot spottier for me, but at least we have Scully’s hair. And don’t apologize! I just love that people are enjoying this.

““You wanna know what I fear? I fear for Mulder and Scully. I fear for the life of that child if you don’t stop pushing it, John.””

Protective Skinner is the best. ❤ Also, it's about time he got his name in the starting credits. Honestly, I feel like Mitch's name should've been there since like… season four. He wasn't in every episode, but he was still important!

"Oh Scullbags, we all hope that’s true."

Scullbags?

"The purposeful hallway walk has met its match, and it is so good."

OMG imagine if both Annabeth Gish and Lucy Lawless decide to come back for the "reboot." All three of them could walk down the hallway and kill us with their majesty. (Also, of course Reyes was checking that out. Don't try telling me you wouldn't. lol)

"“Knowle Rohrer” FIVE TIMES IN FORTY SECONDS"

I know.
It's like they were in the concept room coming up with the names and Chris didn't like any of them, so someone yawned while trying to say "no more" and Chris was like YES. PERFECT. KNOWLE ROHRER.

"“How does one direct bugs?” Do you ever just think about Scully’s life?"

Yes. Quite often.

"Every time Scully cries, an angel takes a day off work to stay in bed, eat ice cream, and binge on Netflix."

I'm an angel, then. Also Trust No 1 made me cry HARD. When she yells Mulder's name at the train I just can't even. 😥

"I don’t think Shadow Man is implying that it only happened once—only that it started one lonely night. Also, this means it’s canon that their first night was at her place, as if we needed more proof that they were doing it before “all things.”"

See, I feel like by "invited to your bed" he didn't mean literally her bed, but rather she was the instigator of the activities that took place in the bed, so my All Things First Time belief still stands, for me. xD

"Rogue friend-finding Scully is at least as good as rogue autopsy Scully. She’s so excited to help."

I had to take a break after finishing the season 9 premiere. I marathoned the series too fast – it is not for the faint of heart. The highs (season 7! so happy much sex!) and lows (season 8! not that it’s a bad season, I actually really like it, but I’ve never felt SO SAD for FAKE PEOPLE), followed by the letdown after the s9 premiere arc wraps…. left me a complete emotional mess.

But I’m recovering and getting back to work.

As has been discussed, the writers were stuck needing to write Duchovny out of the show, and it is REALLY HARD to buy into at first. Then I struggle with how COMPLETELY NUTS the mythology gets (William is prophesied to be the savior of mankind?) but it mostly somehow makes sense, with a little (to a LOT) of suspension of disbelief.

I do not buy the Reyes/Doggett attraction. Sorry! It feels forced, it doesn’t come naturally out of their chemistry. I cringed so hard at the mustard-wipe. They don’t have to be Mulder and Scully! Do not try to sell them to me as a “replacement”!!

Bear with me (or not!), but this shit drives me nuts: in the season premiere, they’re looking at footage from the parking garage from “two days ago”. So…. Scully and Reyes drove all day and into the night, spent a day fixing up a birthing-shack, had the baby that night, went to a nearby hospital (what, walked in and right back out?), got back to DC, and settled in to receive visitors, in TWO DAYS?! It’s not even possible. So Mulder was like, hai bye I gotta pack up my apartment? (Okay someone could have done that for him.) And THEN, Scully is right back in action like 24 hours postpartum?? She should be on her couch in sweats (or, okay, her silk pajamas and robe), with unwashed hair (just this once!), nursing her baby and, you know, recovering. I hate that they completely ignored the reality of the first few days of having a baby at home. At least… incorporate it instead of putting her back on the chase like nothing just happened.

Sorry for rant! I know you’re trying to appreciate the positives, and there are a lot of bigger problems with the writing but this one just bugs the HELL out of me for some reason.

That’s okay! It really is a hard season. I’ll go on record as liking season 8 (though I agree—it’s devastating), but 9 is trickier. I know they were stuck in a difficult position, but the William storyline is so convoluted. And I’m with you—two days?? Not possible. But I do really like Doggett and Reyes. I feel like they never really tried to sell them as replacements for Mulder and Scully, which is why they work. I flailed hard at that mustard wipe 🙂

Trust no 1 was basically a weepfest. Scully’s voiceover at the beginning and her face when the train went by and didn’t stop – my heart broke with hers. There are some episodes in S8 and S9 that I really don’t remember, but find myself wanting to rewatch the series not just for the awesome of S1-7, but also to catch those eps that are just a blank in my mind. Perhaps if I retire early, I can work this in *sigh*.

“Every time Scully cries, an angel takes a day off work to stay in bed, eat ice cream, and binge on Netflix.”
Exactly what I feel like doing everytime she cries. Scully’s tears are literally heartwrenching!! As is her separation from Mulder. Those two are not meant to be apart.

I am forcing myself to watch season 9 now as part of my rewatch to get to The Truth. But it’s so hard to take. I can’t watch the X-Files without Mulder and with Sad!Scully. There’s just no joy when they’re apart.

And there’s so little *dialogue* compared to the rest of the series. A lot of action and brooding silences. Whence all the lovely witty back and forths, the sparkling charm of it all? Oh, only with M&S.

I really do like Doggett and could have been OK with him & Reyes as a secondary partnership but this is the season where we have to admit: Scully is not enough on her own. As wonderful as Gillian is in the part, you need both of them. There’s really no Scully without Mulder, and vice versa. They are really as close as TV has ever gotten – may ever get – to showing how two people can really be halves of one person.

Which is also why I don’t even mind the unevenness of season 10. I only mind when M&S are kept apart. Otherwise, there is *always* some *there* there, something wondrous and fragile and unique to watch. I hope you find time to finish the season 10 review now that the DVDs are out…

I think Scully’s enough “on her own” in season 8, but season 9 stumbles because it misunderstands her relationship with Mulder. It doesn’t find a good enough excuse for him to leave without her. But yes, I’m definitely going to finish out the season! Hopefully soon.